Power to Weight Ratio

So as the season has progressed thus far, my power to weight ratio has gotten MUCH better. As of late December I weighed 184 as the result of some wonderful holiday food and a battle with a Nissan Altima on my bike - which I painfully lost. As the season has progressed and my training has gotten more vigorous, my weight has been peeling off and my goals have steadily been reached. In april I was down to my race weight last year of 172 or so. So I made it my goal in April to be 165 by the Cohutta. I met that goal and set a new one of 160 for the Mohican. I met that and now the new goal is 155 for the Wilderness. Currently I'm running around 161 or 162 as a result of rewarding myself after the Mohican. So now it's crunch time again and there's 7 weeks left til the hills of the Wilderness will either be delightful or destroy me once again. I'd rather be on the happier side. The motivation is there since even when I can't put down a lot of power, the power I do put down doesn't have to push that much weight around. I'll periodically give up dates as a way to motivate myself and maybe help some others.

SSapalooza Race Report

This was a race that was on my calendar pretty early in the season but due to some unforseen obligation the race date moved to the date after my 2nd 100 miler of the season and therefore off the calendar...but not for long. My teammate and I made plans to go to the Mohican 100 and then he brought up the idea of doing the SSapalooza the day after as a cool way to absolutely drain myself of any and all energy and hope of living. It sounded like a great idea. So the plan was on. Do the 100 miles in Ohio and then drive 8 hours home to grab a handful of hours of sleep and then drive to Newburgh NY to do the 2nd race in 2 days. Only my teammate bailed for a more entertaining option and I stuck with the original plan.

So 9 am Sunday morning I was on the starting line after 3 hours of sleep after the dirty century the previous day. The race went off fast - just as my desire to live did. I was shot but I figured I'd put in an effort to try and not finish DFL. As I got into the 1st of two 10 mile laps I just went into conservative race pace and figured I'd have fun and maybe reel in some of the people that were blown up early and spinning backwards. It started to work as I got through a few people on the first lap and just kept being consistent and having fun. 2nd lap came about and found a buddy to chat with and make it a little more fun. We kept on and passed a few more and just had a decent race. I think it was awesome since I actually got to go over the bars uphill on a 29'er. That was a sweet feat.

After all was said and done I got to get my post race celebretory brew and really enjoyed the race as I wasn't as shredded as I thought I'd be. It was good to get out and see all the familiar faces and just absorb the great local scene. Or maybe I was just a little woozy and imagining that I felt alright. The Darkhorse guys really know how to put on a great event and it lived up to all the hype. It was my 2nd attempt at racing a SS and it was alright. The 32-18 worked well and I'll be giving this another try at some point. But for now it's recovery time. Lots of recovery time. Less than 9 weeks til the Wilderness 101 where I'm aiming to attempt a new PR. Let the fun begin...again.

Oh and of course it was good to know that the promoter enjoyed my company as they gave me some schwag for making the long trip between the two races. I came home with some awesome coffee and a set of Specialized sunglasses. 18 hours in the car was definetly worth it :-)

Mohican 100 Race Report

(Photo courtesy of Jen F)
Lets play where's Waldo. Look closely. How about half way up the hill all by myself on the left :-)

Race started off in downtown Loudonville and was a little chilly but generally just great conditions. There were a few passing thunderstorms the night previous but the course remained in great shape. Off from the line the 400 people hammered to get up the paved climb and fight for a spot going into the singletrack. I put in a solid effort and got up towards the front of the group. We did the first 4-5 miles which crosses the stream and has an immediate hike a bike up behind the campground. It drops out to the bike path on the other side of the campground and then into the Mohican State Park trails for 20+ miles of awesome singletrack. Kept on and flew right through Aid 1.
Aid 1 Road Crossing (Mile 20)

The singletrack kept going and was just amazing to cruise through. It was in great shape and a blast to carve. Once the ST ended it opened up to some gravel roads and some pavement which carried up the long driveway to Aid 2 which I rolled into chatting with some of the fellow racers.
Aid 2 Garage (Mile 34)

Leaving aid 2 I saw my buddy Nate from NYC and rode with him for a bit and got to work together with a few riders to gain some time on the gravel and pavement. It was some grungy doubletrack and gravel climbs but soon gave way to some more singletrack. The ST was superb again and dropping down and flying across the farmers field reminded me that aid #3 was coming up.
Aid 3 Split of 100M/100K(Mile 46)

After aid 3 is a little demoralizing since you climb straight back up the same hillside that was just descended. Once the top is gained it’s back to a few more gravel and road sections that lead out to the dreaded rail bed. The rail bed is about 12 miles of bone flat or false flat uphill that grinds all the way into aid 4. My main focus was to if possible - get in a group and paceline as it makes the pain a little better since the miles fly by. Fortunately it worked out well as I had a group of 4 to work with and get to aid 4 pretty quickly.
Aid 4 Park after small town(Mile 72)

After aid 4 it was back to some country roads and then there were some doubletrack climbs that were not long but enough to make you hurt. They were gradual and tough but rideable. The really eroded dirt climb was steep but good as the legs were there and putting down some decent power. This eventually lead out to the suspension bridge and on to aid #3 again.
Aid 3(Again) Split of 100M/100K(Mile 80)

After aid #3 for the second time I knew there were some gravel killers up ahead and I was going to make them my bitch. They destroyed me last year so I was going to try to hit them as hard as I could to help get to the end. It worked. I cranked up the steepest of the gnarly gravel and just kept a constant pace as I knew the end was coming closer. Winding through a few backroads I finally hit a familiar downhill and I knew I was on the road back towards aid 5 so I put more down and got there as fast as I could.
Aid 5 Under Bridge( Mile 92)

At aid 5 I was told only 6 more miles to go(more like 8). So topped off bottles and cranked to the remaining sweet singletrack which we did before. As I got there I was starting to really feel the miles and one of my local buddies snuck up from behind. Dave was tracking me down and I did all I could to hold him off in the remaining singletrack. We got to the campground and found that it wasn’t a direct finish and there was more hills and pain to be had. I was low on energy so I let Dave go with a half hearted chase. I just wanted to be consistent and save a good finish time. I put a couple efforts in but the hike a bike was a kick in the face. Once through the creek I knew I was done and just put whatever I had left to get in across the line in just under 8.5 hours. Actually it was 8:29:54 to be exact. 34th and WAAAAAY happy with how the race went. My best race to date – PERIOD. It all felt good and I raced very smart – finally. All the hard work is starting to pay off and it only makes me hungrier for more.

Cycling news got a couple of shots of myself and my buddies at the starting line. Check em out:

http://cyclingnews.com/mtbphotos.php?id=/photos/2009/may09/mohican100_09/4_prerace
http://cyclingnews.com/mtbphotos.php?id=/photos/2009/may09/mohican100_09/6

Tymor Park Challenge

Tymor was a great race as usual and Tim S. did a great job. If it was the same course as 07 I sure didn't remember it. It looked like a few sections were cut in just for the race.

I had a decent day although I wasn't really feelin as good as I'd hoped. I definitely climbed better than I have in the past but didn't feel an over abundance of energy or power. I've been pretty beat all week and tried to charge to the front trailing behind Chris and Keith and seemed to be sitting about 7th wheel into the singletrack. I caught a few of the other groups here or there but just concentrated on cornering in the muck. I settled in as I thought the lead group was long gone. I kept at it with Greg? on my wheel just being nice and consistent and just stopping any others from grabbing on. We rode together most of the 2nd lap and at the start of the 3rd I decided to try and put a tree into the sleeper hold. I smashed my forearm and chest into the tree so hard it ejected my glasses off of my head. I honestly couldn't believe that my arm was NOT broken. That's how hard I hit that sucka... So I collected myself and kept at it again with Greg leaving as soon as he heard I was alright. I made it through the next lap being conservative as to not repeat my tree groping. I finished fairly strong but definitely fading in those tough conditions. 6th of 17 starters and I left with some $$$ in my pocket. SWEET!

Recovery, who needs recovery?

Ok I do. At least for the first part of the week. After the Cohutta I was smoked for the first part of the week. The only day I started to actually feel like myself on a bike was Saturday...yesterday. I was going to back out of my local H2H race at Wawayanda State park but a talk with the coach advised me otherwise as it would be a great way to judge my recovery. So I prereg'd and went for it. The conditions would not be favorable for most, but for myself I kind of like the grimy stuff. It was surely not going to disappoint. The rain came down and made the rocks slick and the roots slicker. It was going to be a battle.

Got to the line and put myself at the back as I had this written off as a hard workout. It was my first interaction with the 30-39 group which I knew was pretty stout so as the gun went off I just wanted to hang with the group. On each hill I stayed pretty consistent and gained a few positions here or there. So then I knew I actually had some legs so I put it down. I put a few serious efforts in and found myself sitting in 5th or 6th. The first lap was a blast actually feeling good and blasting it.

2nd lap I stayed on it and started to feel the power taper off but was still doing well and just settled in. 1 or 2 guys passed me, of which I wasn't sure who was in my class, so I figure I sat in about 7th. The 3rd lap I definitely felt last week's 100 miler and the pace started to get a little stale. I knew I had enough of a gap on the rest of the riders where it shouldn't hurt me too badly. Then two racers caught up to me. One I let slide through and the other was my teammate. My teammate wanted me to pull him through the techy stuff and then he would return the favor and pull me on the smooth stuff. It was a great theory till he slipped on a techy section and dinged his derailleur which made him shift into his wheel. His mere presence made me go faster though. I jumped onto the final fireroad section and the guy that had previously got through me pulled over working on his back. Gotcha...I thought as I big ringed and took off on the downhill immediately after his break. So now I sat in 8th postion with one hill left to go where I got skanked by a familiar face with a full head of steam. I saw him coming and just couldn't hold the pace and let him go. He got a couple of seconds on me at the line and I finished 9th of 22 or so with a time of 2:56. I was hoping to finish mid pack and getting a top 10 is ever better.

Now I guess I can actually get my recovery in and prepare for the next 100 miler coming up at the end of May. Progress is progress though. Happy to be having a good day on the bike, mudpit or not.

Cohutta 100 Race Report

Back to Tennessee once more I drove to assault the gorgeous Cohutta Wilderness. I drove late into the night and got 4 hours of restless sleep in the Tennessee welcome center and then awoke early to snag a campsite early Friday morning. Good thing I rushed since the campground wasn't anywhere near capacity. The site was great though. Once I picked out my site I snagged one next door to hold for the NYC-MTB trio that was to show up a little later.

Pre-ride was good as things were coming together fine until I realized my tire issue that I would encounter. I set up my new race wheels with some Schwalbe Racing Ralphs and they never really seated or sealed for some reason. After my pre-ride i checked them 3 hours later and both tires lost 20 psi. So I had to tube up my light wheelset but as long as I was smart I shouldn't have any issues. Pasta was put down in the evening as the last tasty calories I would ingest and it was pretty sweet.

Saturday morning I awoke to a fairly chilly morning and had my usual oatmeal and some fruit and off to the line I went. It was probably mid 50's but the weather would soon heat up so the gear of choice was the sleevless jersey and bibs only, as the ladies appreciate the guns.

I lined up not too far from the front and waited for my opening to get to the left and get a good spot into the singletrack. As we climbed the 2.5 mile road climb I put in a decent effort and was sitting in a great position with 1 rider inbetween me and the lead group. As we dumped into the singletrack, I was just enjoying and trying to keep pace with the guy in front. A nice effort got me through the rider in front and then threw a few that got spit out the back of the lead group. Across the bridge alone and opening up a gap I was feeling good and kept on it. Did the climb after the bridge and the remaining singletrack fine, and then enjoyed the gravel hell. I did hydrate well early on but later would be a different story. The problem was more the fact that I worked my nutrition plan like a moron. I forgot to start the Endurolyte process too late and also brought too few pills. That won’t happen again.

The gravel climbs were good and steady with a few steep ups that made me not want to be one of the SS’ers. The main large climb was going well as efforts were pretty steady but then the legs started to go south at 4 hours in. My gracilis would intermittenly fire up as a usual first sign of the cramping to come so I hit the endurolytes at 2:30 but it was a little late. By 4 I was figting cramping in my calves and quads. I tried to super hydrate with heed and water but I forgot about the nutrition. The food came with not enough calories and way too late. The deficit would be hard to recover from. Add on top of that the fact that the Heed seemed to be mixed very weakly so the calories that I thought I was getting - I wasn't. The annoying climbs kept coming after aid 2 and they were steady but not as long as I remember. They would have been much better if I had legs.

After the long downhill the little sprinter climbs were annoying but also nice cause I caught up with my nutrition and kind of settled in on them. After those climbs the steady gravel flats and then slight incline into the climb before aid 4 was rough. It still put in some solid efforts and that went well. Into the next road climb was ok and then I got to aid 6 where the st climb starts. That was good as I was locking out the fork and singlespeeding it since those were the only muscles that would work. I got to the top fairly strong and reached the singletrack where it all went south.

I had NOTHING left. 10 miles to go and NOTHING in the tank. I mustered up the energy to keep going noting the time was getting really late for an 8 hour finish. I actually started the st at 8:07 so it would be tight. I hit one little burst climb that was washed out and had to put a foot down and that was horrible. My calf and hamstring on my right leg were locked and my hamstring on my left leg was locked. I had to peg leg it for 30 feet or so till they kind of unlocked and I could throw a leg over and just spin. And that’s all I could do. Just spin. I kept on at a snails pace and just wanted to see the end. I passed one guy that would pass me later only for me to muster up a little juice to clean the last few sections(Thanks Dave!) of singletrack and hopefully get done with this misery. With the threat of catastrophic cramps lingering just a pedal stroke away I moderated and kept on it. Dave was now following me and we stayed together and chatted down the Thunder Express. This was awesome since he helped pull me into the finish as 9 hours was rapidly approaching. I pulled as hard to the finish as I was blowing up anything I had left. Dave actually pulled me into the line for one last burst of nothingness.

As I crossed the line the clock read 8:58:15. My goal was 8:59:59 and it was good to just sneak in under it with all that went wrong. It still hasn't fully sunken in that I broke 9 hrs. When I started these 100 miler races I thought it was close to impossible to break 10, nevermind 9. 43rd overall in Open Mens was good as last year's finish was 9:46 and 66th overall. It was a long, brutal, sadistic, wonderful day.

Tennessee here I come...

Well I pretty much tore all of my apartment tonight to hopefully bring everything I need for the Cohutta 100 in Copperhill TN Saturday. Much preparation and thought has gone into the race and the challenge of a high of 83 during the day poses some deep thought about hydration delivery. Hopefully I've got everything I'll need. I'm leaving Thursday night for a nice 13 hour trip down dreadful I-81. There's WAAAAY too much of Virginia to go through on that road. I'll report back with some details about the race and hopefully some new pics and a new PR. We'll have to wait and see and hopefully I lay down a solid early season race. This year's prep has been much more structured and I've been very dilligent. Lets see if it pays off.